Summer of the Avatar
by Sarryberry
Summary: Seventeen year old Meilin watches Republic City change every day as rumors of the Avatar's return are confirmed, but not every citizen believes it's for the better. How will the citizens of Republic City react as Amon's radical ideas spread through the non-benders, and how will one teenage girl deal with an oncoming bending revolution threatening her home and whole way of life.
1. Summer Heat

**This story follows the series as closely as possible, and is meant to give a different POV on the happenings of Republic City through the eyes of its citizens. The characters will soon find themselves meeting actual characters from the series, witnessing actual events from the series and taking sides along with the rest of the citizens of Republic City. Read on as the story of Republic City is told again.**

* * *

Meilin lay alone in her small, dusty room, stretched out on her bed reading a tightly bound book in the late afternoon sunlight. Hot waves of stifling air drifted through the open window without care; there was no chance of a cool breeze in sight. Her room baked in the summer heat, as did all of Republic City; a relentlessly stubborn heat wave continued to pour over the whole area. Both beds crammed into the room looked exactly the same, light wooden frame, thin, lumpy mattress and the same faded gray blanket, a hollow color compared to the rich hues of blue and purple the threads once shown. A thin table under the window separated the two beds and opened a space to the only floor in the room. Meilin's soft brown hair stuck to the back of her neck in an uncomfortable way and hung down her face, drifting occasionally into the impatient view of her pale blue eyes. She slowly lifted one lazy arm to her forehead and wiped off the few drops of sweat created from lying as still as possible on top of her worn gray sheets.

"Meilin, could you run out to the store for me?" Her mother Mouka questioned, peeking her head into the doorway, strands of the same soft brown hair pulled up to a loose bun near the top of her head.

"Of course" Meilin smiled, pulling herself out of the bed, happy for a reason to leave the small apartment on the north side of town. She quickly pulled on her light shoes, grabbed a small coin purse from the drawer and crossed the entirety of the room in four steps. The tight living room glowed yellow with heat, the air sat stagnant and dull within the wood paneled walls. Dust particles danced in the burning light and moved in slow circles with each breath. Her younger sister Nakki sat in the middle of the room, playing with a small doll, motioning it around the worn, woven rug and speaking to it in hushed childish tones. Her nine-year-old cheeks glowed pink with heat. In the corner their grandmother sat watching in the scene from the comfort of one of the three thick armchairs which made up all the furnishings in the room. Meilin's mother stood in the three foot kitchen preparing the beginnings of a late dinner, and her youngest sister Tay sat in a little wooden box bed, stretching her infant fingers to the dry air, trying to clutch the thickening waves. The heat rolling off the open stove made the kitchen almost unbearable.

"Bread, lychee juice, possumchicken" Meilin repeated the list to herself. "And mangos." Her grandmother added as she stepped out the door. "Of course Nana!" she called back into the apartment. "Thank you my little zebraseal!"

She started quickly down the metal stair case, reaching the bottom floor after four flights, and hurried out the front door into the afternoon sun. She had to be fast, the sun would only be up for another half an hour if she was lucky. Her feet kicked up dirt as she strode down the narrow familiar streets of Republic City. The heat drove her down to the edge of Yue bay, and she felt more comfortable walking with the water so close. The waves moved up and down with her footsteps, keeping pace with her feet as she made her way to the market streets.

_Hmm, a waterbender_ she thought to herself, every hour of this drought made her even more uncomfortable, as if every drop of her existence was drying up. The bay helped, and she made it a point to visit the warm waves as much as possible, but with two younger sisters and her grandmother to watch out for, Meilin was always busy helping her mother. No one else in her family possessed the gift of bending, not even her Nana, who traveled far from her home in the Northern water tribe to start a new life with her family.

A light warm breeze rolled off the bay and ruffed Meilin's hair, some tied up in a falling bun near the top of her head, and the rest smoothly settled on her shoulders. She bent a small orb of water to her finger tips and rolled in aimlessly between her hands as she neared the market. The heat of the day drifted on, only cooling a few degrees as the sun ebbed closer to the horizon.

"Good evening Mr. Cheug" Meilin greeted the old shopkeeper as she entered the open store.

"Good evening Miss. Sanoukk, what will you have today?" The withered old man watched happily as Meilin picked out her bread and placed her wares into a large paper sack. "Goodnight Mr. Cheug!" she called, "Goodnight Meilin." He answered back.

The red sun had just disappeared over the lip of the horizon as she left the store. The bottle of lychee juice weighed down the bag and adjusted it so it wouldn't fall onto the small loaf of bread. The day continued in a hot swirling manner, even as the last rays of the summer sun left the sky pink and orange. Little red lanterns hung near the street's edge lit up as a group of firebenders traveled down the alleys, lighting each on his way home from the power plant. Clothes hung aimlessly on lines strung between buildings and the alleyways grew dark and foreboding.

Meilin was halfway home when she remembered the mangos, and rather than turn around she veered off her normal path and down the back streets. Through the empty waste bins and hungry lizardcrows, she hastily tottered, the uneven cobble stones crisscrossing her path as she search out an open fruit stand. Finally she saw one, piled high with some of the worst looking produce shed seen this side of the bridge.

_Beggars can't be choosers_ she thought to herself as she examined the bruised mangos the stand offered. She carefully pressed her thumb against the skin of the fruit as the flesh oozed away from her finger a little more than ripe. She picked out three of the least revolting fruits she could find and carefully balanced her bag in one arm as she reached into her purse to grab a few yuans. She paid the merchant, happy to have sold anything that day and started down the alley again.

"Hey girlie!" a rough male voice called out of the shadows, she stopped dead in her tracks, unable to tear herself away from the sight of the dark figure slinking out of the shadows. She knew she should be moving now, fast . . . but her feet froze with fear as a small ball of flames erupted from his open palms. A slight flickering sound echoed down the darkened street, there were no other sounds and no one else around to hear her fast frightened breath.


	2. Out of the Shadows

"Please" she barely whispered "take my yuans, here" she tried to reach slowly towards the pocket hanging near her right hip, but her shaking hands dropped the bag of groceries in a shattering smash, breaking open the bottle of juice and alerting anyone within ear shot.

"Aagh!" she cried as she fell to the ground, a huge blast of concentrated fire blew over top of her. Her hands and knees fell into the broken glass opening deep wounds. Another blast of hot fire came towards her as she blocked with the puddle of juice.

_That's it_, she thought, the juice steaming away in a puff of mist, _I'm done. _She grimaced as she ducked to the ground, awaiting the next blow straight towards her, the blazing air giving her no protection from the oncoming heat.

"Oohf" her attacker cried out, the earth around him swallowing and engulfing him.

"Run!" yelled another voice deeper in the shadows, still hurling gravel and bits of road towards the malicious firebender.

Meilin took off, finally finding her strength again and raced down into the maze of the city. Past the alley ratcats, and the smoke filled gambling rooms, she ran. Her feet pounded the stones and her hands throbbed as the blood welled up beneath her skin. Fear and pain kept her running, racing down the streets until she came to a stop in front of a large, gray ware house. She looked up and down the dimly lit streets, trying to place exactly where she was. Her mother would surely be worried by now; she should have been home sooner. She turned around, staring wide-eyed down the unfamiliar street, nothing came to mind; she couldn't feel the bay and she didn't recognize the endless gray buildings, surrounded by a large metal fence topped with barb wire.

"I can help you back." A voice called from down the alley she appeared. Meilin wiped around ready to fight, when she recognized his voice and realized that he must have been the one who helped her escape the alley. A young man of about eighteen stepped out into the yellowed light, light tan hair fell around the edges of his chin and a loose shirt showed full muscles underneath. In his arms he held the remains of the forgotten groceries and a loose smile drifted across his face.

"Thank you" Meilin stumbled, reaching out to grab a few of the tossed foods.

"My name is Takku" he said, stepping forward towards her tired figure "I've got these, and I can help you home from here if you want"

Meilin wavered, a strange man offered to help her home. Under other circumstances she wouldn't have thought twice about turning around and leaving him right there, but she didn't know where she was, and traveling around the darkest streets of the city alone did not sound very inviting. Obviously he had helped her escape some serious injuries, and followed her with the food she'd lost. She was still uneasy, but something in his deep hazel eyes reassured her ever so slightly, and she begrudgingly accepted his help.

The walk home was surprisingly short, and Takku only had to lead the way down a few side roads until Meilin began to recognize where she was. Their walk was near silent as they traveled down the empty streets; even the lizardcrows were asleep in their dirty nests. Meilin walked beside the total stranger empty handed, as he insisted he could carry it all and didn't want her to worsen her hands. At first she had resented the comment, but now the pain shooting from her hands and knees was almost unbearable. She slowly counted her steps as they plodded along the silent streets. Her hands clenched together with the now drying blood. She was more hurt than she realized and couldn't wait to get home to her little room and lie down and sleep.

As they neared her apartment building her mother burst down the front steps straight towards her. An officer from the metalbending police force followed with prompt, sturdy footsteps. Her mother rushed her, squeezing her in an enormous hug which only hurt her bruised body. Meilin let out a tiny gasp of pain as her mother let go and started looking over her bedraggled state. "What happened to you!" she exclaimed, her eyes darting between cuts and scrapes.

Meilin hastily recalled the events within the safety of the apartment as the metal clad officer took a few notes. Takku stood quietly in the corner of the room, arms still full of food, unsure of whether he should sit down next to the old lady with a little baby in her arms. When Meilin was finish the officer asked him a few questions as well, what the firebender looked like, where the incident took place.

"Thank you for the information" the officer stated sternly and tipped his hat towards Meilin's mother. He left the small room and closed the door behind him with a flick of his wrist, turning the small metal joints with ease.

* * *

**Please, tell me what you think of the story, writing, and over all concept idea. Thank you for the continued writing support!**


	3. Don't Trust a Glowing Bathtub

The room stayed quiet for a long while, everyone still processing the night's events as the half-moon rose higher into the sky. Finally Mouka broke the silence and started gathering bits of food from a startled Takku's arms. She busied herself warming the oven and began to prepare food for the house. Nakki, awoken by the strange sounds popped her head out of the shared bedroom. Little sleepy eyes surveyed the room in a questioning stare, her eyes glancing from her sister's pained body to the complete stranger still standing by the door.

"What happened? Who's he?" she questioned, slightly frightened by the scene within her home.

"This is Takku" her mother replied calmly, coming out of the kitchen "He's a friend and he is welcome to stay here tonight."

"I really don't need. . ." he started, Mouka turned to his gaze "Of course not, but do you think I would allow you to go back out onto those streets again this late at night without at least offering, it's the least we can do. You saved my daughter tonight; I don't know what else to offer you."

"I don't need a thing" he countered. "The offer still stands" she replied, returning to her work in the kitchen.

"Go wash yourself off Meilin, those cuts look deep" Her grandmother ordered in a concerned way. She had no complaints there and quickly strode to the wash room, her cuts on fire.

She quickly turned the cold water tap, producing a steady stream of dull, warm water and carefully lifted off her dress using only her fingertips. The moment her skin touched the water she felt instantly better. Her bruises faded from a dull purple to a faint brown, and as she submerged her palms into the water she was startled by a faint glow surrounding them. She lifted her hands, encased in the blue glowing water and examined them, surprised by how much the water helped. Deep cuts turned to faint scratches and seemed to disappear through the watery glow. She turned her hands over, spinning them from back to front in amazement as every scratch on her body healed within the reaches of the glowing liquid. A minute passed and the blue light faded away, leaving new pink skin on her unharmed body.

After she had drying off and put on a clean dress, Meilin crossed into the living room again. Two of the arm chairs sat pushed together along the far wall, a lump on sheets and pillows lay on top; it seemed somehow her mother had managed to convince Takku into staying till morning. Meilin shook her head and smiled, taking a seat on the floor with the others as they passed around small bowls of potato and possumchicken soup.

"You're better!" Takku exclaimed, eyes widening as he looked over her unmarred skin.

"She's a healer" her grandmother, Yanoki smiled. Her mother turned to her, eyes tracing up and down her body, not a scratch left.

The family ate quickly, suddenly remembering their hunger now the night had settled down. Meilin spooned lumps of potato and meat into her mouth as quickly as she dared without making a mess in front of their guest. She was weak and tired, and something about healing her entire body made her feel so much hungrier than before. She looked up occasionally to catch the glance of the only guy in the room. She caught him more than once staring at her while she ate; as she would look up and he would look away, a hint of embarrassment tinged with a true curiosity gleaming behind his deep hazel eyes. Her pale blue eyes reflected back at him, the same sense of curiosity beneath.

* * *

**So everybody, what do you think? I really love seeing the same story from a different point of view and can't wait to start mingling in events from the series in a new light. Write, review, throw large rocks, use whatever means you feel you must in order to explain how you feel about my writing. Thank you guys for reading! I look forward to your continued support in this writing journey!**


End file.
